Nikita Zadorov: "That's a question for the coach"

Lots of laughs around the locker of Nikita Zadorov today.

That’s sarcasm.

Definitely not a fun time for the big Russian defenseman again, as he is in that dreaded state of no-man’s-land of being good enough to be on the Colorado Avalanche’s roster, but not deemed good enough of late to play actual games.

When Zadorov was a healthy scratch the first game of the season at Madison Square Garden, it was easier to write off as a case of him only having recently rejoined the roster and missing some of training camp. But when he was a healthy scratch on Friday in Las Vegas, and again the next night against Chicago, there was nothing easy to use as rationalization anymore.

Zadorov, make no mistake, is in Jared Bednar’s doghouse. To his credit, Zadorov was accountable to the media after practice Monday, though he wasn’t exactly in an expansive mood with his dialogue. When asked what he thinks the problem is right now with his play, Zadorov said, “That’s a question for the coach.”

Over to you, Bednar:

“We’ve got some guys who are still trying to prove themselves and where they shake out in our lineup, as far as consistently. And I’d say ‘Z’ falls into that category for us,” Bednar said. “He’s been scratched just based on performance. We’ve liked what we’ve seen from some other guys a little more, consistently, than what we’ve seen from Z so far. He’s got a lot of potential, (but) our plan for moving forward is to keep trying to help him get better and evaluate on an everyday basis.”

Zadorov, who signed a two-year, $4.3 million contract after the first day of training camp, has one goal, one assist and an even plus-minus through eight games. His Corsi at even strength, however, is only 47.2. He has gotten more defensive zone starts than last season, though, which is a sign that Bednar is – or was, anyway – a bit more confident in his play in his own end. Zadorov has gotten defensive zone starts at 63.4 percent of the time at even strength, compared to 55.7 last season.

“Maybe I wasn’t great, (maybe I) made a couple of mistakes there,” Zadorov said. “I think everyone makes mistakes, and the only way to (get) through that is to work hard. That’s it.”

Bednar said he’s liked what he’s seen more of late from Mark Barberio, and that Anton Lindholm hasn’t deserved to come out of the lineup with his recent play. The Avs are carrying eight defensemen, so a couple guys have to sit every game. No, it’s not ideal that one of them is a former first-round pick who was a centerpiece of the trade that sent Ryan O’Reilly to Buffalo.

It’ll be a very interesting story moving forward, how it resolves itself. It’s clear Bednar doesn’t give a hoot about anybody’s contract or draft status in making out his lineup. So far, Zadorov is saying the right things in his doghouse stint. But you sometimes wonder just how long this situation will last.

NOTEBOOK

• Bednar said Colin Wilson and Tyson Jost should start skating again in the middle of this week. Bednar said J.T. Compher can’t handle a puck just yet, but he should be fitted for a playing cast soon for his injured thumb.
• Tyson Barrie has nine points through the first 11 games. In the first 11 of last season, he had four, and was a minus-7. He’s got a minus-4 hanging on him so far, but take away that game in Vegas (minus-4) and he’s even. Barrie’s improved shot has been the difference offensively. He said he worked harder on increasing velocity off the stick, and it’s paying off. Barrie’s Corsi at even strength is a solid 54.3.